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Everything in our culture is related to our credit these days. You can live with bad credit, but it’s not easy to do It goes beyond not being able to get a credit card or car—sometimes you might not even be able to rent an apartment with bad credit. You might even have to pay higher insurance rates, and be forced to pay security deposits for utilities.

The best option, if you’ve got credit issues, is to do everything you can to fix them. Not only will it save you money, it will make your life a lot easier. Discover some important tips and tricks, and advice, on how to fix bad credit in 2018, and get your financial well-being back on track for this year.

Fix Bad Credit

The first thing to understand is that there’s no magic button to fix bad credit. Any company that tells you they can instantly repair your credit is lying. You’re often better off working towards repairing your credit yourself, and the process takes time, work and patience, but it’s not outside your ability to do.

You don’t need to have some professional do it. In fact, no credit repair company is going to do anything you can’t do. All they’ll do is make money off of your misfortune.

Monitor Your Credit Reports

Step one in fixing your bad credit is to monitor your credit reports. You are entitled, by law, to copies of all of your credit reports from each of the three major credit agencies, once per year every year. Go to annualcreditreport.com and get copies of all three. Review them carefully, both for the legitimate “black marks” you might have, as well as any mistakes.

You would be amazed at how often mistakes creep into credit reports, and each one can have different information. You’ll want to take steps to correct anything that isn’t right, from accounts that aren’t yours, payments listed as late that you made on time, past due accounts that are current, or other issues.

Disputing Errors

If you find errors you need to dispute, it’s generally better to do it on paper. While there are often online methods, these don’t leave you the advantage of hard evidence. In addition, disputing with regular mail lets you send evidence like copies of canceled checks. Registered mail will prove that you sent the letter, which you can also have notarized. Paper trails are everything in these situations.

Send not only a letter disputing the charge, and not only the evidence supporting your dispute, but a copy of your credit report highlighting the disputed issue. The bureau has 30 to 45 days to conduct an investigation.

Get Your Accounts Current

Next, you need to take care of any delinquent accounts. One good way to do this is with a personal loan. At Koster’s Finance, we have offered loans to clients in Las Vegas and Henderson for years, and we’re here to help you. Read about us, and contact us to get started on your path to better credit today.